But no worries; just because these initial talks are thorough doesn’t mean they take forever. That’s where our marketing team comes in.
Straight from the getgo, you won’t get a single automated message from us. You’ll be receiving responses within 24 hours, written by our Growth Manager for whom responding to you with relevant information is top priority. You will never be an afterthought.
Throughout our communication, we stick to blunt honesty because we don’t believe in diplomatic or sugarcoated answers. And, in the spirit of this transparency and of being helpful whenever we can, we start sharing pertinent material with you immediately, such as examples of our past work that resembles your project or articles that help explain some things and provide guidance.
In terms of the actual step-by-step, here’s what you can expect — from the first point of contact to the moment you’re sitting with our Manager of Strategic Partnerships, pen in hand, ready to seal the deal.
- You send the first message. Ideally, you’ve done so via the form on our website, which guides you to make sure you don’t miss any crucial info (namely the project overview, budget and contact details).
- Our Growth Manager carefully reads it over. If the message is perfect — congrats, you’re a diamond in the rough! You get to skip a few steps and go directly into the hands of Sales. However, most of the time our Growth Manager will send you a follow-up email with some questions. (What makes a “perfect” message? We’ll explain in a sec.)
- We do the research to really understand. Of course, you don’t have time to tell us everything about everything. So, we dig deep, learning about you, the company, the team, to really start empathizing with your needs. You’ve most likely done your research about STRV; it’s only fair to you that we do the same.
- We qualify you as a potential client. Apart from weighing the obvious things like budget and time, we also focus on the human side, the vision and motivations. STRV looks for projects led by passionate, good people because that’s what our team is, and we want our partners to share our mindset.
- Other STRV experts get involved. Internal collaboration is heavily present throughout every project, and it starts here. Marketing alone cannot validate certain information or answer certain questions (ballpark estimate, tech stack possibilities, new technologies, etc.). We bring in senior Sales, Engineering and Design members whenever necessary.
- You’re transferred to Sales. The team knows everything you’ve shared with our Growth Manager, so it’s a smooth transition that happens within 24 hours. At this stage, you’ve either already had or are scheduling your first call with STRV. We know we like you, you’re feeling at least pretty good about us, and we start in-depth discussions.
How To Write the Perfect First Message
Why is it good to get the first message right? Chances are that there’s some sort of deadline or pressure or pure excitement pushing you forward. Losing time is rarely preferred.
To get this show on the road fast, or to quickly pinpoint if we’re right for one another, we ask that you share the following information in your first message. It’s incredibly important. We’ve done this once or twice or 400 times before. Please trust us.
- Share your budget. We understand your worries and yes, it’s possible some companies abuse this info; every business has its “bad guys.” But we’re not one of them. The reason we need to know this number is to give our estimate a direction, think ahead, avoid losing time and establish how we could do the best possible job.
- Share the timeline. If you know when you want to launch, tell us. Any other deadlines looming overhead? Tell us those, too, just in case. Understanding your time constraints or goals in advance impacts everything, from the budget and team structure to our actual product delivery approach.
- Be as specific as possible right away. Have you worked with another team already? Do you have a team of your own? Are you considering various project directions? Anything you tell us is helpful. If you write us a dozen pages, we will excitedly read those dozen pages and you’ll still get a response from us within 24 hours.
- We understand confidentiality concerns. There are details you don’t feel comfortable sharing pre-NDA, and that’s fine. But please provide at least a high-level summary of what you’re trying to achieve and what limitations you have, because we simply cannot move forward without that context. Also please let us know asap if you’ll be needing an NDA, before we start asking questions you’re not at liberty to answer.
Note: Once the NDA is in place, we encourage you to share the RFP (Request for Proposal) if available; it’s priceless at a time when we’re getting to know each other.
Before We Go, One More Request
Turns out that you don’t want to move forward? Absolutely fine. But if possible, please don’t just stop responding. Let us know. We really appreciate closure, especially if it comes with a reason or two explaining why we’re parting ways.
The best things are built on feedback, and that applies to our communication, services and everything else that’s a part of STRV. Yes, we are a leader within this thriving industry, but that in no way means we — and the industry itself — can’t get better.
Still have questions about this topic? Just ask. We’re happy to provide further information.
